


Just Drive

by danfics (starlight_brigade)



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 00:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14249118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlight_brigade/pseuds/danfics
Summary: For his birthday, you take Dan on a road trip to see something you remember from your distant childhood.





	Just Drive

**Author's Note:**

> This was an anonymous request fill, but I'm really proud of it, so I'm also posting it here.
> 
> I'm accepting Dan x Reader prompts/requests over on my Tumblr! -> danfics.tumblr.com

Getting out of the car, you squinted in the California sun. The gentle warmth that penetrated your skin served as a reminder that Spring had arrived.

You watched the door of the Grump Space expectantly. Dan would be coming out any time now - or at least he should. When you texted him earlier, notifying him of the surprise you had planned for his birthday, you made sure to include the detail that time was of the essence. Despite his intense curiosity, he acknowledged, and promised you that he would be done in time.

Right before you could doubt that he would be, he emerged from the building. Seeing you lean against the passenger side of your car, hands in your pockets, he beamed, and walked a little faster to approach you.

You held your arms out to meet him in a tight embrace. He would have held on longer, but you forced yourself free. There would be plenty of time for that later. “Get in,” you said, rounding the front of the car to the driver’s seat, “we’ve got places to be.” He obeyed.

“Where are we going?” he asked, slamming the car door shut behind him.

You started the engine. “I told you, it’s a secret.”

He scoffed at how childish this was, but couldn’t help smiling at your coy expression. If he was honest with himself, anywhere you could take him would be a good time. There was security in the fact that he wasn’t the kind of person to let something be a bad time, and neither were you.

You drove, and time passed. The two of you shared stories, quips, wisdom, and laughter, you sang along to your favorite songs as well as his, and he didn’t ask any more questions about where you were going. That is, until you started swearing under your breath.

He furrowed his eyebrows. “You okay there sweetheart?”

“Uh…” you stuttered. You had missed an exit somewhere and were now completely lost.

He sighed your name in mild frustration.

“Dan, do you trust me?” you asked, outwardly confident, but inwardly kicking yourself. You had a terrible sense of direction and therefore relied on your GPS to get you anywhere, but if you used it now, it would spoil the surprise.

“I trust you,” he defended, “…Most of the time.”

“It’s cool, I’ll just take the next exit.”

“You know, if I knew where we were going, I might be able to help,” he pointed out.

“No!” you whined, “It’s a surprise.”

You were silent for a while as you exited the freeway, trying to figure out a way to get to where you wanted to go. You were very young the last time you went there, so you had a vague, general sense of what it looked like. Technically it didn’t matter - the important part was that you had a clear view of the sky. But the clearing in the woods by the river, which had solidified itself in your memory, would make the difference.

You pointed yourself in more or less the right direction, and after what felt like too long, you began to recognize your surroundings. When you came across the small gravel parking lot, you knew you had made it. The sky had turned a dark indigo, signaling that you were just in time.

You turned off the car and grinned excitedly at Dan. “We’re here!”

Dan was very confused. “Where exactly are we?”

You reached over him and opened the glove compartment, retrieving a small flashlight. “C’mon, I’ll show ya!”

Hurrying out of the car and nearly skipping onto the trail into the woods, you were reveling in the sense of adventure, while Dan merely followed you, unsure of what to make of any of this.

“Has this all been an elaborate ruse and you’re just luring me out into the woods to murder me?” he asked, a joking smile on his face.

You laughed. “Yeah, I just needed to make sure you were worthy. I’ll be sacrificing you to the harvest gods tonight.

“Ah, I knew it.”

You shrugged. “What can I say? They need fresh blood.”

You heard the gentle flowing of the river in the distance - you were getting close. You followed the trail as it wound through the foliage. It wasn’t as dense as you remembered it being when you were much smaller, but it was still blocking any light that was left over from the sun which had by now sunken behind the horizon. Dan followed closely behind you, as you were the only one with a flashlight.

You emerged into the clearing, turned off the flashlight, and everything was exactly as you remembered. The fallen tree which had become a moss-covered log; the quiet, slow-moving river that glistened just slightly in the dark, reflecting the starlight above; and the sky, which was exactly as breathtaking as it was years ago.

Dan slowed next to you as you stopped. “Wh—“ he started, before you grabbed his hand with one of yours, and with the other, you pointed up. “Oh shit.”

It felt strangely surreal to be able to see the Milky Way from your place on the earth, but there it was, an ethereal streak of light punctuating the glittering stars around it. You looked back at Dan, who had a look of childlike wonder you had never seen on him before.

He glanced at you. “Is this…?”

You nodded enthusiastically.

“Wow,” he breathed, looking back up at the bright sea of stars.

“Do you trust me?” You echoed your question from before, at no louder a volume than a hushed murmur, afraid of disturbing the peaceful quiet.

He looked at you, his expression noticeably soft even in the dark, and the way it grew into an elated grin told you all that you needed to know.


End file.
